Legendary film critic Roger Ebert passed away today after a long, public and inspiring battle with cancer. But in addition to being one of the most famous movie reviewers of all-time, Ebert was an outspoken political progressive.
Here are five of Ebert’s best quotes about politics:
1. “I am proudly a liberal. I am also patriotic, reasonable, pro-American, and stand for family values.” [March 2010]
2. “I have watched with a kind of petrified fascination in recent years as the world creeps closer to what looks to me like disastrous climate change. The poles are melting. Ocean levels are rising. The face of the planet is torn by unprecedented natural disasters. States of emergency have become so routine that governors always seem to be proclaiming one. Do they have drafts of proclamations on file?” [March 2013]
3. “That James Holmes is insane, few may doubt. Our gun laws are also insane, but many refuse to make the connection…This would be an excellent time for our political parties to join together in calling for restrictions on the sale and possession of deadly weapons. That is unlikely, because the issue has become so closely linked to paranoid fantasies about a federal takeover of personal liberties that many politicians feel they cannot afford to advocate gun control.” [July 2012]
4. “I believe empathy is the most essential quality of a civilization.” [May 2012]
5. “In the years since then I’ve known a fair share of gay couples who seemed as established and content as other couples, some more some less. In a society that was slowly outgrowing the traditions of patriarchy and matriarchy, they’d made a lateral move into humanarchy. The idea of them being joined in a civil union was a no-brainer. They’d cast their lot together, shared their duties, had an implicit agreement to stand by each other, and certainly deserved to have their relationship recognized by the state if only for reasons of ownership and inheritance.” [August 2010]
Here are five of Ebert’s best quotes about politics:
1. “I am proudly a liberal. I am also patriotic, reasonable, pro-American, and stand for family values.” [March 2010]
2. “I have watched with a kind of petrified fascination in recent years as the world creeps closer to what looks to me like disastrous climate change. The poles are melting. Ocean levels are rising. The face of the planet is torn by unprecedented natural disasters. States of emergency have become so routine that governors always seem to be proclaiming one. Do they have drafts of proclamations on file?” [March 2013]
3. “That James Holmes is insane, few may doubt. Our gun laws are also insane, but many refuse to make the connection…This would be an excellent time for our political parties to join together in calling for restrictions on the sale and possession of deadly weapons. That is unlikely, because the issue has become so closely linked to paranoid fantasies about a federal takeover of personal liberties that many politicians feel they cannot afford to advocate gun control.” [July 2012]
4. “I believe empathy is the most essential quality of a civilization.” [May 2012]
5. “In the years since then I’ve known a fair share of gay couples who seemed as established and content as other couples, some more some less. In a society that was slowly outgrowing the traditions of patriarchy and matriarchy, they’d made a lateral move into humanarchy. The idea of them being joined in a civil union was a no-brainer. They’d cast their lot together, shared their duties, had an implicit agreement to stand by each other, and certainly deserved to have their relationship recognized by the state if only for reasons of ownership and inheritance.” [August 2010]
No comments:
Post a Comment